Friday, 20 June 2008

Are we all finally tiring of the big set-piece photo opportunities? Have there simply been too many US Presidential visits, too many Prime Ministerial summits and too many grimacing photo calls by Party Leaders? Judging from the low key response to visit by US President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush it appears the media and the public have become bored with such events.There was an attempt to create a fuss about Caitriona Ruane’s absence from a school visit by the President but no one really seemed that bothered. Similarly attempts to draw attention to the fact that Martin McGuinness was ‘glad-handing’ President Bush at Stormont while other Sinn Féin MLAs were verbally attacking the President’s foreign policy record failed to ignite much interest.